The 1980s was a special time for family-friendly dining in America. Lots of restaurants soared to new heights, with countless corporate and franchised locations opening up from coast to coast. It seems, however, that chain restaurants are a dying breed as locally owned boutique-style options open in cities throughout the nation. Here are seven iconic restaurants the enjoyed the height of their fame in the 1980s but today are nearly extinct.
Steak & Ale
- Founded in 1966 by Norman Brinker
- Filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2008 and closed for good
- Had as many as 280 locations in the 1980s
- Announced in April 2024 that Steak & Ale is being revived
Howard Johnson’s
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- Began as a drug store/soda fountain
- The first restaurant in 1929 by 32-year-old Howard Deering Johnson
- HoJo’s was the largest American restaurant chain in the 1950s and ’60s, with more than 1,000 restaurants by 1979
- Today, after multiple company ownership changes, only one Howard Johnson’s restaurant is still in operation
Bonanza Steakhouse
- Founded in 1963 by Dan Blocker, who played “Hoss” on the show Bonanza
- First location opened in Westport, Connecticut
- Peaked in 1989 with nearly 600 locations
- As of April 2024, only three Bonanza locations remain in the U.S.
D’Lites
- Founded in 1978 in Norcross, GA
- Brought a nutritious flavor to fast food
- More than 100 stores open by 1985
- By end of 1986, all were closed due to bankruptcy, caused in large part by the fact other fast food restaurants began offering more nutritious options
Chi-Chi’s
- Founded in Richfield, MN, in 1975
- Co-founder’s wife’s nickname was Chi Chi
- Rose in popularity in the 1980s, and had 210 locations by 1995
- Filed for bankruptcy in October 2003
- In November 2003, Chi-Chi’s had the largest hepatitis A outbreak in American history
Rax Roast Beef
- Peaked in the 1980s with more than 500 locations
- The company has declared bankruptcy more than once
- As of 2024, there are only six Rax locations still in operation
ShowBiz Pizza
- The first ShowBiz Pizza opened in March of 1980 in Kansas City, Missouri
- The “house band” was called the Rock-afire Explosion
- By 1981, there were 90 ShowBiz Pizza locations — 42 franchises and 48 company-owned
- Today, there are only a handful of ShowBiz locations still open, none of which are in the U.S.
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